The invention described herein is generally related to electrically conductive polymeric materials. More specifically, this invention is related to the polyacetylene class of electrically conductive polymers.
Doped polyacetylene has now been studied for a number of years because of its electrical conductivity. One well-recognized difficulty in the practical application of polyacetylene is its insolubility in common organic solvents, which severely limits its processability in commercial applications. Accordingly, it has been sought to render polyacetylene soluble without reducing its capacity for being doped to render it electrically conductive.
Block copolymers of polyacetylene and polyisoprene have recently been reported by F. S. Bates and G. L. Baker in their paper entitled "Soluble Polyacetylene Graft Copolymers", published in Macromolecules, Volume 16, No. 4, pp. 704-707 (1983). The graft, or block, copolymers reported therein include polyisoprene polymers having a molecular weight of approximately 200,000. There is no discussion by Bates and Baker of any attempt to dope the copolymers in an attempt to obtain an electrically conductive polymer.
Accordingly, it is an object and purpose of the present invention to provide an electrically conductive polymer.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a dopable polymer which is soluble in common organic solvents and which is thereby processable.